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THE  UBRARY  OF  THE 

UNIVERSITY  OF 

NORTH  CAROLINA 

AT  CHAPEL  HILL 


ENDOWED  BY  THE 

DIALECTIC  AND  PHILANTHROPIC 

SOCIETIES 


PS3535 
.0172 
.U6 
1922 


i^'v^ 


UNIVERSITY  OF  N.C.  AT  CHAPEL  HILL 


00022548236 


This  book  is  due  at  the  WALTER  R.  DAVIS  LIBRARY  on 
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Digitized  by  the  Internet  Archive 

in  2012  with  funding  from 

University  of  North  Carolina  at  Chapel  Hill 


http://archive.org/details/undertreeroberts 


UNDER  THE  TREE 


AT  O^Z"^' 


And  over  and  over  I  tried  to  see 
Some  of  us  wallcing  under  the  tree, 

And  how  it  looks  when  I  am  there. 

From  On  the  Hill 


UNDER  THE  TREE 


BY 


ELIZABETH  MADOX  ROBERTS 


NEW  YORK        B.  W.  HUEBSCH,  Inc.       mcmxxh 

# 


COPYRIGHT,  1922,  BY 
B.   W.  HUEBSCH,  INC. 


PRINTED   IN   U|.  S.  A- 


TO  MY  FATHER 

SIMPSON  ROBERTS 


O 


ACKNOWLEDGMENTS 

Certain  of  these  poems  have  appeared  in 
The  Atlantic  Monthly,  The  University 
Record  (the  University  of  Chicago), 
Poetry,  a  Magazine  of  Verse,  Child  Life, 
and  the  Phoenix.  The  author  thanks 
the  editors  of  these  journals  for  the 
privilege  of  reprinting. 


CONTENTS 

PAGE 

The  Sky 1 

The  Cornfield 3 

Milking  Time  .     .     .     ,     , 4 

In  My  Pillow 6 

Miss  Kate-Marie    .     .     .     , 8 

The  Woodpecker 10 

The  Star 11 

The  Butterbean  Tent 12 

Big  Brother 14 

Mr.  Wells 15 

Dick  and  Will 16 

The  Pilaster 18 

Firefly 19 

Little  Rain 20 

The  Pulpit 22 

On  the  Hill 24 

Autumn 26 

The  Rabbit 28 

Crescent  Moon 29 

Father's  Story 30 

Christmas  Morning 32 

People  Going  By 35 

Babes  in  the  Woods 38 

The  Picnic 40 


CONTENTS 

PAGE 

Mumps      .     .     .     .     i        .......  42 

The  Circus 44 

Strange  Tree 46 

AThe  Branch 48 

The  Worm 50 

A  Child  Asleep 52 

Little  Bush 54 

At  the  Water 55 

Water  Noises 56 

Among  the  Rushes 58 

Numbers 59 

In  the  Night 60 

The  People 63 

The   Grandmother 64 

In  Maryland 66 

The  Sunday  Bonnet 68 

The  Sun  and  a  Birch  Tree 70 

A  Little  Wind 71 

Autumn  Fields 72 

Mr.  Pennybaker  at  Church 74 

The   Wolves 75 

A  Beautiful  Lady 76 

Shells  in  Rock 78 

Horse 80 

August  Night 82 

Three  Dominican  Nuns 84 

My  Heart 85 

The  Hens 86 


THE  SKY 


I  saw  a  shadow  on  the  ground 
And  heard  a  bluejay  going  by; 
A  shadow  w^ent  across  the  ground. 
And  I  looked  up  and  saw  the  sky. 

It  hung  up  on  the  poplar  tree. 
But  while  I  looked  it  did  not  stay; 
It  gave  a  tiny  sort  of  jerk 
And  moved  a  little  bit  away. 

And  farther  on  and  farther  on 
It  moved  and  never  seemed  to  stop. 
I  think  it  must  be  tied  with  chains 
And  something  pulls  it  from  the  top. 


[1] 


It  never  has  come  down  again, 
And  every  time  I  look  to  see, 
The  sky  is  always  slipping  back 
And  getting  far  away  from  me. 


[2] 


THE  CORNFIELD 


I  went  across  the  pasture  lot 
When  not  a  one  was  watching  me. 
Away  beyond  the  cattle  barns 
I  climbed  a  little  crooked  tree. 

And  I  could  look  down  on  the  field 
And  see  the  corn  and  how  it  grows 
Across  the  world  and  up  and  down 
In  very  straight  and  even  rows. 

And  far  away  and  far  away — 
I  wonder  if  the  farmer  man 
Knows  all  about  the  corn  and  how 
It  comes  together  like  a  fan. 


[3] 


/ 

MILKING  TIME 


When  supper  time  is  almost  come. 
But  not  quite  here,  I  cannot  wait, 
And  so  I  take  my  china  mug 
And  go  down  by  the  milking  gate. 

The  cow  is  always  eating  shucks 
And  spilling  off  the  little  silk. 
Her  purple  eyes  are  big  and  soft — 
She  always  smells  like  milk. 

And  Father  takes  my  mug  from  me. 
And  then  he  makes  the  stream  come  out. 
I  see  it  going  in  my  mug 
And  foaming  all  about. 


[4] 


And  when  it's  piling  very  high, 

And  when  some  little  streams  commence 

To  run  and  drip  along  the  sides, 

He  hands  it  to  me  through  the  fence. 


[5] 


IN  MY  PILLOW 


When  Mother  or  Father  turns  down  the  light, 
I  like  to  look  into  my  pillow  at  night. 

Some  people  call  them  dreams,  but  for  me 

They  are  things  I  look  down  in  my  pillow  and  see. 

I  saw  some  birds,  as  many  as  four. 

That  were  all  blue  wings  and  nothing  else  more. 

Without  any  head  and  without  any  feet, 
Just  blue  wings  flying  over  a  street. 

And  almost  every  night  I  see 

A  little  brown  bowl  that  can  talk  to  me. 


[6] 


A  nice  little  bowl  that  laughs  and  sings, 
And  ever  so  many  other  things. 

Sometimes  they  are  plainer  than  I  can  say, 
And  while  I  am  waking  they  go  away. 

And  when  nobody  is  coming  by, 
I  feel  my  pillow  all  over  and  try 

And  try  to  feel  the  pretty  things, 

The  little  brown  bowl  and  the  flying  wings. 


[7] 


MISS  KATE-MARIE 


And  it  was  Sunday  everywhere, 
And  Father  pinned  a  rose  on  me 
And  said  he  guessed  he'd  better  take 
Me  down  to  see  Miss  Kate-Marie. 


And  when  I  went  it  all  turned  out 
To  be  a  Sunday  school,  and  there 
Miss  Kate-Marie  was  very  good 
And  let  me  stand  beside  her  chair. 

Her  hat  was  made  of  yellow  lace; 
Her  dress  was  very  soft  and  thin. 
And  when  she  talked  her  little  tongue 
Was  always  wriggling  out  and  in. 


[8] 


I  liked  to  smell  my  pretty  rose; 
I  liked  to  feel  her  silky  dress. 
She  held  a  very  little  book 
And  asked  the  things  for  us  to  guess. 

She  asked  about  Who-made-y-God, 
And  never  seemed  to  fuss  or  frown; 
I  liked  to  watch  her  little  tongue 
And  see  it  wriggle  up  and  down. 


[9] 


l/ 


THE  WOODPECKER 


The  woodpecker  pecked  out  a  little  round  hole 
And  made  him  a  house  in  the  telephone  pole. 

One  day  when  I  watched  he  poked  out  his  head, 
And  he  had  on  a  hood  and  a  collar  of  red. 

When  the  streams  of  rain  pour  out  of  the  sky, 
And  the  sparkles  of  lightning  go  flashing  by. 

And  the  big,  big  wheels  of  thunder  roll. 
He  can  snuggle  back  in  the  telephone  pole. 


[10] 


THE  STAR 

(A  Song) 

0  little  one  away  so  far. 

You  cannot  hear  me  when  I  sing. 

You  cannot  tell  me  what  you  are, 

1  cannot  tell  you  anything. 


[11] 


THE  BUTTERBEAN  TENT 


All  through  the  garden  I  went  and  went, 
And  I  walked  in  under  the  butterbean  tent. 

The  poles  leaned  up  like  a  good  tepee 
And  made  a  nice  little  house  for  me. 

I  had  a  hard  brown  clod  for  a  seat, 
And  all  outside  was  a  cool  green  street. 

A  little  green  worm  and  a  butterfly 

And  a  cricket-like  thing  that  could  hop  went  by. 

Hidden  away  there  were  flocks  and  flocks 
Of  bugs  that  could  go  like  little  clocks. 


[12] 


Such  a  good  day  it  was  when  I  spent 

A  long,  long  while  in  the  butterbean  tent. 


[13] 


BIG  BROTHER 

Our  brother  Clarence  goes  to  school. 

He  has  a  slate  and  a  blue  school-bag. 

He  has  a  book  and  a  copybook 

And  a  scholar's  companion  and  a  little  slate  rag. 

He  knows  a  boy  named  Joe  B.  Kirk, 
And  he  learns  about  c-a-t  cat. 
And  how  to  play  one-two-sky-blue. 
And  how  to  make  a  football  out  of  a  hat. 

We  climb  up  on  the  fence  and  gate 
And  watch  until  he's  small  and  dim. 
Far  up  the  street,  and  he  looks  back 
To  see  if  we  keep  on  watching  him. 


[14] 


MR.  WELLS 


On  Sunday  morning,  then  he  comes 
To  church,  and  everybody  smells 
The  blacking  and  the  toilet  soap 
And  camphor  balls  from  Mr.  Wells. 

He  wears  his  whiskers  in  a  bunch. 
And  Avears  his  glasses  on  his  head. 
I  mustn't  call  him  Old  Man  Wells- 
No  matter — that's  what  Father  said. 

And  when  the  little  blacking  smells 
And  camphor  balls  and  soap  begin, 
I  do  not  have  to  look  to  know 
That  Mr.  Wells  is  coming  in. 


[15] 


DICK  AND  WILL 


Our  brother  says  that  Will  was  bom 
The  very  day  that  Dickie  came; 
When  one  is  four  the  other  is. 
And  all  their  birthdays  are  the  same. 

Their  coats  and  waists  are  just  alike; 
They  have  their  hats  together,  too. 
They  sleep  together  in  one  bed, 
And  Will  can  put  on  Dickie's  shoe. 

But  they  are  not  the  same  at  all; 
Two  different  boys  they  have  to  be, 
For  Dick  can  play  in  Mother's  room 
When  Will  is  climbing  in  a  tree. 


[16] 


Or  maybe  Will  is  on  the  porch 
To  cry  because  he  stubbed  his  toe, 
And  Dick  is  laughing  by  the  gate 
And  watching  ants  go  in  a  row. 


[17] 


THE  PILASTER 


The  church  has  pieces  jutting  out 
Where  corners  of  the  walls  begin. 
I  have  one  for  my  little  house, 
And  I  can  feel  myself  go  in. 

I  feel  myself  go  in  the  bricks. 
And  I  can  see  myself  in  there. 
I'm  always  waiting  all  alone, 
I'm  sitting  on  a  little  chair. 

And  I  am  sitting  very  still. 
And  I  am  waiting  on  and  on 
For  something  that  is  never  there. 
For  something  that  is  gone. 


[18] 


FIREFLY 
(A  Song) 

A  little  light  is  going  by. 
Is  going  up  to  see  the  sky, 
A  little  light  with  wings. 

I  never  could  have  thought  of  it. 
To  have  a  little  bug  all  lit 
And  made  to  go  on  wings. 


[19] 


LITTLE  RAIN 


When  I  was  making  myself  a  game 
Up  in  the  garden,  a  little  rain  came. 

It  fell  down  quick  in  a  sort  of  rush. 

And  I  crawled  back  under  the  snowball  bush. 

I  could  hear  the  big  drops  hit  the  ground 
And  see  little  puddles  of  dust  fly  round. 

A  chicken  came  till  the  rain  was  gone; 
He  had  just  a  very  few  feathers  on. 

He  shivered  a  little  under  his  skin, 
And  then  he  shut  his  eyeballs  in. 


[20] 


Even  after  the  rain  had  begun  to  hush 
It  kept  on  raining  up  in  the  bush. 

One  big  flat  drop  came  sliding  down, 
And  a  ladybug  that  was  red  and  brown 

Was  up  on  a  little  stem  waiting  there, 
And  I  got  some  rain  in  my  hair. 


[21] 


THE  PULPIT 


On  Sunday  when  I  go  to  church 

I  wear  my  dress  that's  trimmed  with  lace. 

I  sit  beside  my  mother  and 

Am  very  quiet  in  my  place. 

When  Dr.  Brown  is  reading  hymns 
To  make  the  people  want  to  sing, 
Or  when  he  preaches  loud  and  makes 
The  shivery  bells  begin  to  ring, 

I  watch  the  little  pulpit  house — 
It  isn't  very  tall  or  wide — 
And  then  I  wonder  all  about 
The  little  ones  that  live  inside. 


[22] 


When  Dr.  Brown  has  preached  enough, 
And  when  he  is  about  to  stop, 
He  stands  behind  the  little  house 
And  shuts  the  Bible  on  the  top. 

I  wonder  if  they  sit  inside. 

And  if  they  cook  and  walk  up  stairs. 

I  wonder  if  they  have  a  cat 

And  say  some  kind  of  little  prayers. 

I  wonder  if  they  re  ever  scared 
Because  the  bedroom  lamp  goes  out, 
And  what  their  little  dreams  are  like 
And  what  they  wonder  all  about. 


[23] 


ON  THE  HILL 


Mother  said  that  we  could  go 

Up  on  the  hill  where  the  strawberries  grow. 

And  while  I  was  there  I  looked  all  down, 
Over  the  trees  and  over  the  town. 

I  saw  the  field  where  the  big  boys  play, 
And  the  roads  that  come  from  every  way. 

The  courthouse  place  where  the  wagons  stop, 
And  the  bridge  and  the  scales  and  the  black- 
smith shop. 

The  church  steeple  looked  very  tall  and  thin, 
And  I  found  the  house  that  we  live  in. 


[24] 


I  saw  it  under  the  poplar  tree. 
And  I  bent  my  head  and  tried  to  see 

Our  house  when  the  rain  is  over  it. 

And  how  it  looks  when  the  lamps  are  lit. 

I  saw  the  swing  from  up  on  the  hill, 
The  ropes  were  hanging  very  still. 

And  over  and  over  I  tried  to  see 
Some  of  us  walking  under  the  tree, 

And  the  children  playing  everywhere, 
And  how  it  looks  when  I  am  there. 

But  Dickie  said,  "Come  on,  let's  race" ; 
And  Will  had  found  the  strawberry  place. 


[25] 


AUTUMN 


Dick  and  Will  and  Charles  and  I 

Were  playing  it  was  election  day, 

And  I  was  running  for  president, 

And  Dick  was  a  band  that  was  going  to  play, 

And  Charles  and  Will  were  a  street  parade, 
But  Clarence  came  and  said  that  he 
Was  going  to  run  for  president. 
And  I  could  run  for  school-trustee. 

He  made  some  flags  for  Charles  and  Will 
And  a  badge  to  go  on  Dickie's  coat. 
He  stood  some  cornstalks  by  the  fence 
And  had  them  for  the  men  that  vote. 


[26] 


Then  he  climbed  on  a  box  and  made  a  speech 
To  the  cornstalk  men  that  were  in  a  rov/. 
It  was  all  about  tlie  dem-o-crats. 
And  "I  de-fy  any  man  to  show." 

And  "I  de-fy  any  man  to  say." 
And  all  about  "It's  a  big  disgrace." 
He  spoke  his  speech  out  very  loud 
And  shook  his  fist  in  a  cornstalk's  face. 


[27] 


THE  RABBIT 


When  they  said  the  time  to  hide  was  mine, 
I  hid  back  under  a  thick  grape  vine. 

And  while  I  was  still  for  the  time  to  pass, 
A  litle  gray  thing  came  out  of  the  grass. 

He  hopped  his  way  through  the  melon  bed 
And  sat  down  close  by  a  cabbage  head. 

He  sat  down  close  where  I  could  see, 
And  his  big  still  eyes  looked  hard  at  me. 

His  big  eyes  bursting  out  of  the  rim. 
And  I  looked  back  very  hard  at  him. 


[28] 


CRESCENT  MOON 

And  Dick  said,  "Look  what  I  have  found!" 
And  v/hen  we  saw  we  danced  around, 
And  made  our  feet  just  tip  the  ground. 

We  skipped  our  toes  and  sang,  "Oh-lo. 
Oh-who,  oh-who,  oh  what  do  you  know! 
Oh- who,  oh-hi,  oh-loo,  kee-lo!" 

We  clapped  our  hands  and  sang,  "Oh-ee!" 
It  made  us  jump  and  laugh  to  see 
The  little  new  moon  above  the  tree. 


[29] 


FATHER'S  STORY 


We  put  more  coal  on  the  big  red  fire. 

And  while  we  are  waiting  for  dinner  to  cook, 

Our  father  comes  and  tells  us  about 

A  story  that  he  has  read  in  a  book. 

And  Charles  and  Will  and  Dick  and  I 
And  all  of  us  but  Clarence  are  there. 
And  some  of  us  sit  on  Father's  legs. 
But  one  has  to  sit  on  the  little  red  chair. 

And  when  we  are  sitting  very  still. 
He  sings  us  a  song  or  tells  a  piece; 
He  sings  Dan  Tucker  Went  to  Town, 
Or  he  tells  us  about  the  golden  fleece. 

[30] 


He  tells  about  the  golden  wool, 

And  some  of  it  is  about  a  boy 

Named  Jason,  and  about  a  ship. 

And  some  is  about  a  town  called  Troy. 

And  while  he  is  telling  or  singing  it  through, 
I  stand  by  his  arm,  for  that  is  my  place. 
And  I  push  my  fingers  into  his  skin 
To  make  little  dents  in  his  big  rough  face. 


[31] 


CHRISTMAS  MORNING 


If  Bethlehem  were  here  today, 
Or  this  were  very  long  ago. 
There  wouldn't  be  a  winter  time 
Nor  any  cold  or  snow. 

I'd  run  out  through  the  garden  gate, 
And  down  along  the  pasture  walk; 
And  off  beside  the  cattle  barns 
I'd  hear  a  kind  of  gentle  talk. 

I'd  move  the  heavy  iron  chain 
And  pull  away  the  wooden  pin; 
I'd  push  the  door  a  little  bit 
And  tiptoe  very  softly  in. 


[32] 


The  pigeons  and  the  yellow  hens 
And  all  the  cows  would  stand  away; 
Their  eyes  would  open  wide  to  see 
A  lady  in  the  manger  hay. 

If  this  were  very  long  ago 
And  Bethlehem  were  here  today. 

And  Mother  held  my  hand  and  smiled- 
I  mean  the  lady  would — and  she 
Would  take  the  woolly  blankets  off 
Her  little  boy  so  I  could  see. 

His  shut-up  eyes  would  be  asleep, 
And  he  would  look  like  our  John, 
And  he  would  be  all  crumpled  too, 
And  have  a  pinkish  color  on. 


[33] 


I'd  watch  his  breath  go  in  and  out. 
His  little  clothes  would  all  be  white. 
I'd  slip  my  finger  in  his  hand 
To  feel  how  he  could  hold  it  tight. 

And  she  would  smile  and  say,  "Take  care," 
The  mother,  Mary,  would,  "Take  care"; 
And  I  would  kiss  his  little  hand 
And  touch  his  hair. 

While  Mary  put  the  blankets  back 
The  gentle  talk  would  soon  begin. 
And  when  I'd  tiptoe  softly  out 
I'd  meet  the  wise  men  going  in. 


[34] 


PEOPLE  GOING  BY 


Before  they  come  I  hear  their  talk 
And  hear  their  feet  go  on  the  walk. 

Some  go  fast  and  some  go  slow. 
And  some  of  them  I  almost  know. 

In  mornings  they  are  going  down 
To  see  somebody  in  the  town. 

Or  Mrs.  Warner  hurries  past; 
She  has  to  go  and  come  back  fast. 

She  walks  by  quick  and  will  not  stop, 
To  go  to  the  church  with  the  cross  on  top. 


[35] 


I  think  she  goes  there  every  day 
To  take  her  rosary  and  pray. 

And  one  of  them  is  Mr.  Jim — 

And  the  big  white  dog  that  follows  him. 

And  one  is  lame;  that's  Uncle  Mells; 
He  takes  off  warts  by  mumbling  words, 
And  he  can  lay  on  spells. 

Or  maybe  night  is  almost  come. 
And  Miss  Jane  Anne  is  going  home. 

And  by  her  side  walks  Mr.  Paul; 
They  go  along  with  far-off  looks 
And  hardly  ever  talk  at  all. 

Or  Murry's  child  comes  up  this  way 
To  carry  milk  to  poor  Miss  May 


[36] 


That  lives  in  Wells's  other  house, 
Or  Joe  is  driving  home  his  cows. 

And  some  go  fast  and  some  go  slow, 
And  some  of  them  I  almost  know. 

I  can  feel  them  almost  speak  to  me, 
When  they  pass  by  our  tree. 


[37] 


BABES  IN  THE  WOODS 


The  two  little  children  that  died  long  ago 
Away  in  the  woods  on  the  top  of  a  hill — 
And  a  good  little  robin  that  knew  all  about  it 
Came  with  strawberry  leaves  in  her  bill, 

To  cover  them  up,  and  she  kept  very  quiet 
And  brought  the  leaves  one  at  a  time,  I  think. 
And  some  of  the  leaves  would  have  little  holes 

in  them, 
And  some  would  be  red  and  pink. 

And  these  little  Babes-in-the-Woods  that  were 

dead 
Must  have  lain  very  still,  and  they  heard  all  the 

talk 
That  the  bees  would  be  saying  to  more  little  bees, 
And  maybe  they  even  could  hear  the  ants  walk. 

[38] 


And  they  could  look  out  through  a  crack  in 

the  leaves 
And  see  little  bushes  and  some  of  the  sky. 
They  could  see  robin  coming  with  leaves  in  her 

mouth, 
And  they  watched  for  her  when  she  went  by. 


[39] 


THE  PICNIC 


They  had  a  picnic  in  the  woods, 

And  Mother  couldn't  go  that  day, 

But  the  twins  and  Brother  and  I  could  go; 

We  rode  on  the  wagon  full  of  hay. 

There  were  more  little  girls  than  ten,  I  guess. 
And  the  boy  that  is  Joe  B.  Kirk  was  there. 
He  found  a  toad  and  a  katydid, 
And  a  little  girl  came  whose  name  was  Clare. 

Miss  Kate-Marie  made  us  play  a  song 
Called  "Fare-you-well,  says  Johnny  O'Brown." 
You  dance  in  a  ring  and  sing  it  through, 
And  then  some  one  kneels  down. 

[40] 


She  kissed  us  all  and  Joe  B.  Kirk; 
But  Joe  B.  didn't  mind  a  bit. 
He  walked  around  and  swung  his  arms 
And  seemed  to  be  very  glad  of  it. 

Then  Mr.  Jim  said  he  would  play, 
But  Miss  Marie,  she  told  him  then. 
It's  a  game  for  her  and  the  little  folks. 
And  he  could  go  and  fish  with  the  men. 

Mr.  Wells  was  there  and  he  had  a  rope 
To  tie  to  a  limb  and  make  it  swing. 
And  Mrs.  Wells,  Mr.  Wells's  wife, 
Gave  me  a  peach  and  a  chicken  wing. 

And  I  had  a  little  cherry  pie 

And  a  piece  of  bread,  and  after  we'd  played 

Two  other  songs,  I  had  some  cake 

And  another  wing  and  some  lemonade. 


[41] 


V 

MUMPS 


I  had  a  feeling  in  my  neck, 

And  on  the  sides  were  two  big  bumps; 

I  couldn't  swallow  anything 

At  all  because  I  had  the  mumps. 

And  Mother  tied  it  with  a  piece, 
And  then  she  tied  up  Will  and  John, 
And  no  one  else  but  Dick  was  left 
That  didn't  have  a  mump  rag  on. 

He  teased  at  us  and  laughed  at  us, 
And  said,  whenever  he  went  by, 
"It's  vinegar  and  lemon  drops 
And  pickles!"  just  to  make  us  cry. 


[42] 


But  Tuesday  Dick  was  very  sad 
And  cried  because  his  neck  was  sore, 
And  not  a  one  said  sour  things 
To  anybody  any  more. 


[43] 


THE  CIRCUS 

Friday  came  and  the  circus  was  there, 
And  Mother  said  that  the  twins  and  I 
And  Charles  and  Clarence  and  all  of  us 
Could  go  out  and  see  the  parade  go  by. 

And  there  were  wagons  with  pictures  on, 
And  you  never  could  guess  what  they  had  inside. 
Nobody  could  guess,  for  the  doors  were  shut. 
And  there  was  a  dog  that  a  monkey  could  ride. 

A  man  on  the  top  of  a  sort  of  cart 
Was  clapping  his  hands  and  making  a  talk. 
And  the  elephant  came — he  can  step  pretty  far- 
It  made  us  laugh  to  see  him  walk. 

[44] 


Three  beautiful  ladies  came  riding  by, 
And  each  one  had  on  a  golden  dress, 
And  each  one  had  a  golden  whip. 
They  were  queens  of  Sheba,  I  guess. 

A  big  wild  man  was  in  a  cage, 
And  he  had  some  snakes  going  over  his  feet. 
And  somebody  said  "He  eats  them  alive!" 
But  I  didn't  see  him  eat. 


[45] 


STRANGE  TREE 


Away  beyond  the  Jarboe  house 
I  saw  a  different  kind  of  tree. 
Its  trunk  was  old  and  large  and  bent, 
)l  And  I  could  feel  it  look  at  me.  U 

The  road  was  going  on  and  on 
Beyond  to  reach  some  other  place. 
I  saw  a  tree  that  looked  at  me, 
And  yet  it  did  not  have  a  face. 

It  looked  at  me  with  all  its  limbs; 
It  looked  at  me  with  all  its  bark. 
The  yellow  wrinkles  on  its  sides 
Were  bent  and  dark. 


[46] 


And  then  I  ran  to  get  away, 
But  when  I  stopped  to  turn  and  see. 
The  tree  was  bending  to  the  side 
And  leaning  out  to  look  at  me. 


[47] 


1/ 

THE  BRANCH 


We  stopped  at  the  branch  on  the  way  to  the  hill. 
We  stopped  at  the  water  a  while  and  played. 
We  hid  our  things  by  the  osage  tree 
And  took  off  our  shoes  and  stockings  to  wade. 

There  is  sand  at  the  bottom  that  bites  at  your 

feet. 
And  there  is  a  rock  where  the  waterfall  goes. 
You  can  poke  your  foot  in  the  foamy  part 
And  feel  how  the  water  runs  over  your  toes. 

The  little  black  spiders  that  walk  on  the  top 
Of  the  water  are  hard  and  stiff  and  cool. 
And  I  saw  some  wiggletails  going  around. 
And  some  slippery  minnows  that  live  in  the  pool. 


[48] 


And  where  it  is  smooth  there  is  moss  on  a  stone, 
And  where  it  is  shallow  and  almost  dry 
The  rocks  are  broken  and  hot  in  the  sun, 
And  a  rough  little  water  goes  hurrying  by. 


[49] 


THE  WORM 


Dickie  found  a  broken  spade 
And  said  he'd  dig  himself  a  well; 
And  then  Charles  took  a  piece  of  tin, 
And  I  was  digging  with  a  shell. 

Then  Will  said  he  would  dig  one  too. 
We  shaped  them  out  and  made  them  wide, 
And  I  dug  up  a  piece  of  clod 
That  had  a  little  worm  inside. 

We  watched  him  pucker  up  himself 
And  stretch  himself  to  walk  away. 
He  tried  to  go  inside  the  dirt. 
But  Dickie  made  him  wait  and  stay. 


[50] 


His  shining  skin  was  soft  and  wet. 
I  poked  him  once  to  see  him  squirm. 
And  then  Will  said,  "I  wonder  if 
He  knows  that  he's  a  worm." 

And  then  we  sat  back  on  our  feet 
And  wondered  for  a  little  bit. 
And  we  forgot  to  dig  our  wells 
Awhile,  and  tried  to  ansv/er  it. 

And  while  we  tried  to  find  it  out, 
He  puckered  in  a  little  wad, 
And  then  he  stretched  himself  again 
And  went  back  home  inside  the  clod. 


[51] 


A  CHILD  ASLEEP 


I  looked  for  him  everywhere 
Because  I  wanted  him  to  play; 
And  then  I  found  him  on  his  bed 
Asleep,  but  it  was  day. 

His  eyes  were  shut  behind  the  lids — 
He  couldn't  lift  them  up  to  see. 
And  I  looked  at  him  very  long, 
And  something  in  him  looked  at  me. 

And  he  was  something  like  a  cat 
That  is  asleep,  or  like  a  dog; 
Or  like  a  thing  that's  in  the  woods 
All  day  behind  a  log. 


[52] 


(/ 
And  then  I  was  afraid  of  it. 

Of  something  that  was  sleeping  there. 

I  didn't  even  say  his  name, 

But  I  came  down  the  stair.  „ 


[531 


LITTLE  BUSH 
(A  Song) 

A  little  bush 

At  the  picnic  place, 

A  little  bush  could  talk  to  me. 

I  ran  away 

And  hid  myself. 

And  I  found  a  bush  that  could  talk  to  me, 

A  smooth  little  bush  said  a  word  to  me. 


.'[54] 


AT  THE  WATER 


I  liked  to  go  to  the  branch  today; 
I  liked  to  play  with  the  wiggletails  there. 
And  five  little  smells  and  one  big  smell 
Were  going  round  in  the  air. 

One  was  the  water,  a  little  cold  smell, 
And  one  was  mud  and  that  was  more. 
And  one  was  the  smell  of  cool  wet  moss, 
And  one  was  some  fennel  up  on  the  shore. 

And  the  one  big  smell  came  out  of  the  mint, 
And  one  was  something  I  couldn't  tell. 
And  the  five  little  ones  and  the  big  one 
AH  went  together  very  well. 

[55] 


WATER  NOISES 


When  I  am  playing  by  myself, 
And  all  the  boys  are  lost  around, 
Then  I  can  hear  the  water  go; 
It  makes  a  little  talking  sound. 

Along  the  rocks  below  the  tree, 

I  see  it  ripple  up  and  wink; 

And  I  can  hear  it  saying  on, 

"And  do  you  think?     And  do  you  think?" 

A  bug  shoots  by  that  snaps  and  ticks. 
And  a  bird  flies  up  beside  the  tree 
To  go  into  the  sky  to  sing. 
I  hear  it  say,  "Killdee,  killdee!" 


[56] 


Or  else  a  yellow  cow  comes  down 
To  splash  a  while  and  have  a  drink. 
But  when  she  goes  I  still  can  hear 
The  water  say,  "And  do  you  think?" 


[57] 


AMONG  THE  RUSHES 


I  saw  a  curly  leaf  and  it  was  caught  against 

the  grassy  side. 
And  it  was  tangled  in  the  watery  grasses  where 

the  branch  is  wide; 
I  had  it  for  my  little  ark  of  rushes  that  must 

wait  and  hide. 

I  had  it  for  my  little  Moses  hidden  where  no 

one  could  see, 
The  little  baby  Moses  that  nobody  knew  about 

but  me. 

And  I  was  hiding  in  the  flags  and  I  was  waiting 

all  the  day. 
And  watching  on  the  bank  to  see  if  Pharaoh's 

daughter  came  that  way. 


[58] 


NUMBERS 

When  I  can  count  the  numbers  far. 
And  know  all  the  figures  that  there  are, 

Then  I'll  know  everything,  and  I 
Can  know  about  the  ground  and  sky. 

And  all  the  little  bugs  I  see, 

And  I'll  count  the  leaves  on  the  silver-leaf  tree, 

And  all  the  days  that  ever  can  be. 

I'll  know  all  the  cows  and  sheep  that  pass. 
And  I'll  know  all  the  grass. 

And  all  the  places  far  away. 

And  I'll  know  everything  some  day. 

[59] 


IN  THE  NIGHT 


The  light  was  burning  very  dim. 
The  little  blaze  was  brown  and  red, 
And  I  waked  just  in  time  to  see 
A  panther  going  under  the  bed. 

I  saw  him  crowd  his  body  down 
To  make  it  fit  the  little  space. 
I  saw  the  streaks  along  his  back. 
And  bloody  bubbles  on  his  face. 

Long  marks  of  light  came  out  of  my  eyes 
And  went  into  the  lamp — and  there 
Was  Something  v/aiting  in  the  room — 
I  saw  it  sitting  on  a  chair. 


[60] 


Its  only  eye  was  shining  red, 
Its  face  was  very  long  and  gray, 
Its  two  bent  teeth  were  sticking  out, 
And  all  its  jaw  was  torn  away. 

Its  legs  were  flat  against  the  chair, 
Its  arms  were  hanging  like  a  swing. 
It  made  its  eye  look  into  me, 
But  did  not  move  or  say  a  thing. 

I  tried  to  call  and  tried  to  scream. 
But  all  my  throat  was  shut  and  dry. 
My  little  heart  was  jumping  fast, 
I  couldn't  talk  or  cry. 

And  when  I'd  look  outside  the  bed 
I'd  see  the  panther  going  in. 
The  streaks  were  moving  on  his  back, 
The  bubbles  on  his  chin. 


[61] 


I  couldn't  help  it  if  they  came, 

I  couldn't  save  myself  at  all. 

And  so  I  only  waited  there 

And  turned  my  face  against  the  wall. 


[62] 


THE  PEOPLE 

The  ants  are  walking  under  the  ground. 
And  the  pigeons  are  flying  over  the  steeple, 
And  in  between  are  the  people. 


[63] 


THE  GRANDMOTHER 


When  Grandmother  comes  to  our  house, 
She  sits  in  the  chair  and  sews  away. 
She  cuts  some  pieces  just  alike 
And  makes  a  quilt  all  day. 

I  watch  her  bite  the  little  thread. 

Or  stick  the  needle  in  and  out, 

And   then   she   remembers  her  grandmother's 

house, 
And  what  her  grandmother  told  about. 

And  how  a  very  long  ago — 

She  tells  it  while  she  cuts  and  strips — 

We  used  to  live  in  Mary-land, 

And  there  was  a  water  with  ships. 


[64] 


But  that  was  long  before  her  day, 
She  says,  and  so  I  like  to  stand 
Beside  her  chair,  and  then  I  ask, 
"Please  tell  about  in  Mary-land." 


[65] 


IN  MARYLAND 


When  it  was  Grandmother  Barbara's  day, 
We  lived  on  a  hill,  and  down  below. 
Beyond  the  pasture  and  the  trees, 
A  river  used  to  go. 

The  water  was  very  wide  and  blue 
And  deep,  and  my!  it  was  a  sight 
To  see  the  ships  go  up  and  down, 
And  all  the  sails  were  white. 

And  Grandmother  Barbara  used  to  wait 
Beside  the  window  or  the  door. 
She  never  was  too  tired  of  it 
To  watch  the  river  any  more. 


[66] 


And  we  could  hardly  see  across, 

And  the  water  was  blue,  as  blue  as  the  sky, 

And  all  day  long  and  all  day  long 

We  watched  the  little  ships  go  by. 


[67] 


THE  SUNDAY  BONNET 


It  happened  at  Grandmother  Polly's  house. 
And  there  was  a  bonnet  put  away 
For  Polly  to  wear  when  she  went  to  church. 
She  would  not  wear  it  every  day. 

It  had  some  little  flowers  on, 
And  it  was  standing  on  its  head 
In  a  bonnet  box  where  it  was  safe. 
Away  up  stairs  on  the  company's  bed. 

And  Grandmother  Polly  was  going  to  church, 
And  she  sent  her  Alice  up  the  stair — 
Alice  was  black — she  was  Evaline's  child — 
She  waited  on  Polly  and  combed  her  hair. 


[68] 


And  Alice  said,  "Oh,  lawsie  me!" 
And  then  she  cried  and  came  running  down. 
And  everyone  went  to  see,  and  the  cat 
Had  five  little  cats  in  the  bonnet  crown. 


[69] 


THE  SUN  AND  A  BIRCH  TREE 


As  I  came  home  through  Howard's  lane, 
The  trees  were  bending  down  with  rain. 

A  still  mist  went  across  their  tops. 

And  my  coat  was  powdered  gray  with  drops. 

Then  I  looked  in  the  woods  to  see 
The  limbs  of  the  white  birch  tree. 

It  made  a  bright  spot  in  the  air. 

And  I  thought  the  sun  was  shining  there. 


[70] 


A  LITTLE  WIND 

(A  Song) 

When  I  lay  down 

In  a  clover  place. 

With  eyelids  closed, 

In  a  clover  place, 

A  little  wind  came  to  my  face. 

One  gentle  wind 

Blew  on  my  mouth, 

And  I  said,  "It  will  quiver  by. 

What  little  wind  now  can  it  be?" 

And  I  lay  still 

Where  the  clovers  were. 

But  when  I  raised  my  lids  to  see, 
Then  it  was  a  butterfly. 

[71] 


AUTUMN  FIELDS 


He  said  his  legs  were  stiff  and  sore 
For  he  had  gone  some  twenty-eight  miles, 
■And  he'd  walked  through  by  watergaps 
And  fences  and  gates  and  stiles. 

He  said  he'd  been  by  Logan's  woods, 
And  up  by  Walton's  branch  and  Simms, 
And  there  were  sticktights  on  his  clothes 
And  little  dusts  of  seeds  and  stems. 

And  then  he  sat  down  on  the  steps, 
And  he  said  the  miles  were  on  his  feet. 
For  some  of  that  land  was  tangled  brush. 
And  some  was  plowed  for  wheat. 


[72]  ^ 


The  rabbits  were  thick  where  he  had  been, 
And  he  said  he'd  found  some  ripe  papaws. 
He'd  rested  under  a  white  oak  tree. 
And  for  his  dinner  he  ate  red  haws. 

Then  I  sat  by  him  on  the  step 
To  see  the  things  that  he  had  seen. 
And  I  could  smell  the  shocks  and  clods. 
And  the  land  where  he  had  been. 


[73] 


MR.  PENNYBAKER  AT  CHURCH 


He  holds  his  songbook  very  low. 
And  then  he  stretches  down  his  face, 
And  Mother  said,  "You  mustn't  watch, 
He's  only  singing  bass." 

He  makes  his  voice  go  walking  down. 
Or  else  he  hurries  twice  as  fast 
As  all  the  rest,  but  even  then 
He  finishes  the  song  the  last. 

And  when  I  see  him  singing  there, 
I  wonder  if  he  knows  it  all 
About  Leviticus  and  Shem 
And  Deuteronomy  and  Saul. 


[74] 


THE  WOLVES 


When  Grandmother  Polly  had  married  and  gone, 
But  before  her  father  had  given  her  Clem, 
Or  Joe,  or  Sandy,  or  Evaline — 
Before  he  had  given  her  any  of  them. 

She  used  to  live  in  a  far-away  place. 
In  a  little  cabin  that  was  her  home, 
And  all  around  were  bushes  and  trees, 
And  the  wolves  could  come. 

At  night  they  ran  down  out  of  the  rocks 
And  bristled  up  their  trembly  fur. 
They  came  and  howled  by  Polly's  door 
And  showed  their  little  white  teeth  at  her. 


[75] 


A  BEAUTIFUL  LADY 


We  like  to  listen  to  her  dress, 
It  makes  a  whisper  by  her  feet. 
Her  little  pointed  shoes  are  gray; 
She  hardly  lets  them  touch  the  street. 

Sometimes  she  has  a  crumpled  fan. 
Her  hat  is  silvered  on  the  crown. 
And  there  are  roses  by  the  brim 
That  nod  and  tremble  up  and  down. 

She  comes  along  the  pavement  walk, 

And  in  a  moment  she  is  gone. 

She  hardly  ever  looks  at  us, 

But  once  she  smiled  and  looked  at  John. 


[76] 


And  so  we  run  to  see  her  pass 
And  watch  her  through  the  fence,  and  I 
Can  hear  the  others  whispering, 
"Miss  Josephine  is  going  by." 


[77] 


SHELLS  IN  ROCK 


I've  been  along  the  quarry  road, 
And  I  have  watched  men  digging  wells, 
And  everywhere  it  was  the  same — 
The  stones  were  full  of  little  shells. 

And  they  are  packed  away  in  rock; 
They're  under  sand  and  under  clay; 
And  some  one  said  that  they  were  left 
When  the  ocean  went  away. 

I  saw  them  in  the  stones  that  make 
A  church,  and  in  a  bridge. 
They're  hidden  in  the  solid  rock 
But  they  show  along  the  edge. 


[78] 


You  see  them  in  foundation  stones; 
They  show  in  creeks  and  waterfalls; 
And  once  I  saw  them  on  the  jail — 
More  little  shells  in  walls. 

We  walk  on  them  when  we  walk  on  roads; 
And  they're  packed  under  all  the  hills. 
Suppose  the  sea  should  come  back  here 
And  gather  up  its  shells. 


[79] 


HORSE 


His  bridle  hung  around  the  post. 

The  sun  and  the  leaves  made  spots  come  down; 

I  looked  close  at  him  through  the  fence; 

The  post  was  drab  and  he  was  brown. 

His  nose  was  long  and  hard  and  still, 
And  on  his  lip  were  specks  like  chalk. 
But  once  he  opened  up  his  eyes, 
And  he  began  to  talk. 

He  didn't  talk  out  with  his  mouth; 
He  didn't  talk  with  words  or  noise. 
The  talk  was  there  along  his  nose; 
It  seemed  and  then  it  was. 


[80] 


He  said  the  day  was  hot  and  slow, 
And  he  said  he  didn't  like  the  flies; 
They  made  him  have  to  shake  his  skin, 
And  they  got  drowned  in  his  eyes. 

He  said  diat  drab  was  just  about 
The  same  as  brown,  but  he  was  not 
A  post,  he  said,  to  hold  a  fence. 
"I'm  horse,"  he  said,  "that's  what!" 

And  then  he  shut  his  eyes  again. 
As  still  as  they  had  been  before. 
He  said  for  me  to  run  along 
And  not  to  bother  him  any  more. 


[81] 


AUGUST  NIGHT 


We  had  to  wait  for  the  heat  to  pass, 
And  I  was  lying  on  the  grass, 

While  Mother  sat  outside  the  door, 
And  I  saw  how  many  stars  there  were. 

Beyond  the  tree,  beyond  the  air, 

And  more  and  more  were  always  there. 

So  many  that  I  think  they  must 
Be  sprinkled  on  the  sky  like  dust. 

A  dust  is  coming  through  the  sky! 
And  I  felt  myself  begin  to  cry. 


[82] 


So  many  of  them  and  so  small. 
Suppose  I  cannot  know  them  all. 


[83] 


THREE  DOMINICAN  NUNS 


One  day  they  came;  I  heard  their  feet. 
They  made  a  tapping  on  the  street. 

And  as  they  passed  before  our  trees. 

Their  shawls  blew  out  in  curves  like  threes, 

And  bent  again  in  twos  and  L's ; 

The  wind  blew  on  their  rosaries 
And  made  them  ring  like  little  bells. 


[84] 


MY  HEART 


My  heart  is  beating  up  and  down. 
Is  walking  like  some  heavy  feet. 
My  heart  is  going  every  day, 
And  I  can  hear  it  jump  and  beat. 

At  night  before  I  go  to  sleep, 
I  feel  it  beating  in  my  head; 
I  hear  it  jumping  in  my  neck 
And  in  the  pillow  on  my  bed. 

And  then  I  make  some  little  words 
To  go  along  and  say  with  it — 
The  men  are  sailing  home  from  Troy, 
And  all  the  lamps  are  lit. 

The  men  are  sailing  home  from  Troy^ 
And  all  the  lamps  are  lit. 

[85] 


THE  HENS 


The  night  was  coming  very  fast; 
It  reached  the  gate  as  I  ran  past. 

The  pigeons  had  gone  to  the  tower  of  the  church 
And  all  the  hens  were  on  their  perch, 

Up  in  the  barn,  and  I  thought  I  heard 
A  piece  of  a  little  purring  word. 

I  stopped  inside,  waiting  and  staying. 

To  try  to  hear  what  the  hens  were  saying. 

They  were  asking  something,  that  was  plain, 
Asking  it  over  and  over  again. 

[86] 


One  of  them  moved  and  turned  around, 
Her  feathers  made  a  ruffled  sound, 

A  ruffled  sound,  like  a  bushful  of  birds, 
And  she  said  her  little  asking  words. 

She  pushed  her  head  close  into  her  wing. 
But  nothing  answered  anything. 


The  end  of 
Under  the  Tree 


[87] 


